diamondminerstudiosfandomcom-20200216-history
User blog:Pinkguy the b0ss/Thoughts on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Hey. This is another post that's gonna be somewhat different to my usual stuff. As a sort of sequel to my previous post where I gave my opinon of the Nintendo Entertainment System, I'm gonna talk about what I think about my thoughts on its successor, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Let's begin, shall we? This time, there's not as much history to discuss. All you really need to know is that after the massive success of the NES, several competitors emerged - the Sega Genesis and Turbografx-16 (also known as the Sega Mega Drive and PC Engine respectively). They both had much better specs than the NES, and the Genesis in particular managed to be a considerable threat to Nintendo's market dominance. In response, Nintendo hastened the development of their own 16-bit system: the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, obviously (also known as the Super Famicom in Japan). Every technical aspect besides the CPU speed was superior to the Genesis. This made Sega aggresively market the Genesis, which led to the most famous console war in all of gaming history which the SNES eventually managed to win. It sold aprroximately 50 million units throughout its 8-year long lifespan. So yeah, that's pretty much all you need to know. Now, on to the topic of this post - my thoughts on this legendary console. If you've read any of my previous posts, then you should already know what I think of this console, but I'm doing this anyway. So here we go - my thoughts on the SNES. Design This is a common point of contention among the gaming community. The console had two different designs each with their own distinct look - the angular and boxy North American model with lavender and purple controller buttons, and the more rounded Japanese, European, and Australian model with red, yellow, green, and blue controller buttons (from this point I'll call the NA model the NTSC model and the JP/EUR/AUS model as the PAL model). If you've been on SNES-related things on the internet, you'll know that the majority of people prefer the styling of the PAL model. As for me, though.... I vastly prefer the look of the NTSC model. This is mostly because I have a preference for things to be more angular, especially when it comes to game consoles. That's not to say I dislike the PAL model, because I don't, I just like the NTSC one more. However, the design of the console is not what's important. What is important is the system's functionality. And thankfully, the SNES hardware is just as solid as it looks. Unlike the original toaster model NES, the SNES has a toploading cartridge slot, a first for Nintendo. This gives the SNES a significantly more solid pin connection than the NES, and the cartridge slot doesn't wear down as quickly as the NES. If a game doesn't turn on, it's always because the cartridge pin connectors need cleaning, and never because of faulty hardware. The controller is also great. For one, the form factor is an improvement over the NES controller, having more comfortable rounded edges, buttons with much less concavity, a less stiff D-pad, and the nice addition of shoulder buttons. The only thing the NES controller does better is the start and select buttons, which feel a bit better on the NES controller. Overall, the SNES has one of my favorite controllers, second only to the Gamecube controller. Community Just like the community surrounding the NES, the one for the SNES similarly has distinct good and bad sides. For one, the homebrew and romhack scenes are just as widespread as the NES, if not more so. This is very well-deserved attention towards an old system still in need of it. Unfortunately, there is a bad side to the community. There are plenty of people who will vehemently defend the SNES as if it's perfect, while bashing alternatives such as the Sega Genesis. Most are nostalgic fans who grew up with the console and still take the SNES vs. Genesis debate way too seriously. Of course, this isn't limited to the SNES. All popular game consoles have fanbases that will be extremely defensive of the system when someone else makes criticisms of a console, no matter how valid. I would understand this more if people used bullshit reasons to bash a console, but if they're offering legitimate points, I don't see why everything has to be an all-out war for these people. Thankfully, like every other console, these people are the minority. Aesthetics This console is, in my opinion at least, a massive step up from the NES aesthetically. There is a much larger color palette, leading to significantly better looking games than the NES. Some of the best-looking games on the console include the Donkey Kong Country games, Super Mario World and Super Mario All-Stars, Yoshi's Island, and Super Castlevania IV. There are some bad-looking games every now and then, but for the most part, the SNES has very appealing visuals. The MIDI music is also excellent. I like it more than the chiptunes of the NES, and other consoles whose musical styles I like pretty much equally are the MIDI of the N64 and Gamecube, the FM synthesis of the Genesis, and the redbook CD audio of the Playstation, Playstation 2, and Wii. The best music on the console includes the soundtracks to the first two Donkey Kong Country games, Super Mario World and All-Stars, Yoshi's Island, Super Castlevania IV, and Star Fox. Games Oh boy, now this is the part I've been waiting for. It's finally time to talk about my opinions on every SNES game I happen to own. I'll get this out of the way - the SNES library is a clear step up from the NES, at least for me. There are so many more quality games for this console as this was the era of gaming where developers really grasped how to properly make video games. There are some stinkers, and I'll be sure to point them out, but most of the games I've played have been at least decent. Any games that I haven't finished yet will have my first impressions, and once I finish them, I'll edit this article to represent my thoughts on the games. Let's get straight into this. Super Mario World Man, we're starting this one off very strong. This was the first game released for the SNES, which is impressive, because it manages to be my favorite game on the system. It features very charming and colorful graphics, one of the most useful powerups in Mario history (the Cape Feather), the best controls, physics, soundtrack, and level design in any 2D Mario game, damn-near perfect difficulty balancing, and was the first Mario game to feature a save feature. Super Mario Bros. 3 comes very close, and so do other non-Mario sidescrollers like DKC2, Mega Man X, and especially Sonic 3&K, but I like Super Mario World just the slightest bit more. Donkey Kong Country Another very solid platformer. It has some of the best controls and level design of any game I've played, a catchy and memorable soundtrack, a good level of challenge, and of course, very impressive graphics for a 16-bit game. It could almost pass off as being 32-bit it looks so good. It isn't perfect, but what game is? Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest This game is one of the best sidescrollers I've ever played. For one, the graphics are the best of any game on the SNES, and the soundtrack is great. The songs are very catchy, and the game is way more colorful than the first DKC. The controls are just as smooth as the first game, but with a few subtle improvements that make it even smoother. The level design is also some of the best of any sidescroller I've played, and the level of challenge is pitch-perfect. The only real flaw is that you have to pay to save, but this doesn't bother me all that much. Besides that, I have virtually no complaints about this one. It's easily one of my favorite games of all time. Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! For this game.... I'm sorry, I honestly don't like this one. The more I play the first two DKC games, the more my opinion of this game weakens. While the graphics and soundtrack are good, they pale in comparison to DKC1 and DKC2, being way too dark and moody for my tastes, with a few exceptions. The level design is also far from stellar, to say the least, having some of my most despised platforming levels of all time. I want, and I mean truly want, to like this game. I don't hate this game at all. If I'm being completely honest with myself, though, I don't enjoy playing it very much. That's disappointing, because I absolutely love the first two games. But that's just how things are. Super Mario All-Stars This isn't only one game, but rather a compilation. It has remakes of the four 8-bit Mario games from 1985-1990. All of these remakes are great, except for Lost Levels (which I hated to begin with, so... I'm not surprised). Besides that, though, the remakes of Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 2, and especially Super Mario Bros. 3 are all pretty solid. These alone make this game worth it, but there's another variant that includes what I consider to be the definitive version of Super Mario World. It's obviously the SNES version of Super Mario World, pretty much unchanged. However, it features four save files instead of three, and gives Luigi an actual sprite instead of just making him a green Mario (in fact, I think it's the best Luigi sprite in the whole series). If you ever come across Super Mario All-Stars, I would definitely recommend it. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island This is another great game. To briefly summarize my thoughts on this game, I love the smoothness of the controls, the graphics, the soundtrack, the general level design, but dislike a handful of levels and the final boss (mechanically). This is also one of the most challenging games I've ever beat, which I think is a big plus as I love a good challenge. Thankfully, its difficulty is legitimate and doesn't come from cheap design.... mostly. However, the game does have several flaws. The strengths it does have are quite strong, but those lowpoints are pretty damn stinky. In spite of this, the game is one of my favorite SNES games. Even if I wouldn't put this as one of my favorite games of all time, it's still quite good. Mega Man X This game is my first Mega Man game, and oh boy what an introduction. This game features great mechanics, decent boss fights, appealing visuals, a stellar soundtrack that's one of the best in gaming history, and above all, very smooth controls and a good level of challenge. It isn't perfect, as some bosses can be annoying, and you may find yourself having to grind a bit. Still, this is easily in my top 5 SNES games Super Castlevania IV So far, this one is pretty great. It's my first Castlevania game, and I'd say I chose a good place to start. The levels are very well-designed (albeit a bit on the longer side), the graphics are appropriately dark and spooky, the soundtrack is great, and the controls feel great. I can tell, however, that this one is gonna be a challenge to beat. Thankfully, there are unlimited continues and a password system, so like Mega Man X it won't be that strenuous. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past I'm not a fan of RPGs, but this one seems like it will be pretty good. This is one of my two first games in the Zelda series, the other being Ocarina of Time on N64. I would love to get a start on this one, but I've just been more compelled to finish other platformers I haven't yet first as they are my favorite genre. For now, Link to the Past is on hold, but I promise I'll get to it some day. Star Fox My oh my, is this a difficult game. In fact, it may just be the hardest SNES game I've played. And this is coming from a guy who's beaten Yoshi's Island and Mega Man X, and achieved 100% completion on DKC1 and DKC2. It's my first ever Star Fox game, and boy is it a tough introduction. So far, I haven't been able to make it past the first stage.... on the easy route (yeah I know, I'm pathetic). It certainly isn't a bad game, but it's got that arcade-style difficulty to it. Extremely challenging, but still fun to play. Super Metroid This game seems like it will be good. It's also my introduction to the Metroid series, so yeah, that's yet another series I've been introduced to on SNES. Unfortunately, the save battery on my cart is dead, so if I save and shut off the game, I'll start up on the first part of the game and instantly die. It's a shame, because I really wanted to play this game. I'll probably have to hunt down another cartridge, because I have no experience whatsoever with replacing save batteries. I could emulate, but I'd personally rather have the cartridge. Mario Paint I'm not gonna lie, as useless as this game seems, I find it quite enjoyable. It's a drawing game (obviously), and while it doesn't offer that many options, it's still a ton of fun. One of my favorite things to do is write out swear words next to Mario, because... I have an immature sense of humor, that's why. Whatever. All I want to say is that this one is pretty fun. Super Star Wars Another hard game. It's a bit easier than Star Fox, but not by much. So far, it's good, but seriously, it's fucking HARD. That seems to be a trend in run-and-gun games. It also reminds me somewhat of Contra, another good run-and-gun game. SimCity To be honest, I couldn't really get into this one. It's pretty slow (as is expected from simulation games) and just not that fun. It's also kind of complicated, which is not something I like when it comes to video games. Overall, not bad, I just couldn't be bothered with it. Madden 93, 94, and 95 I'm lumping these together because they're all practically identical - they are sports games after all. Literally, the graphics, music, and everything else is the exact same between the three games. Since I don't care about sports games, I'm obviously not a fan of these. I don't really understand why there needs to be so many sports games, because they're literally all the same thing. These games were made by EA, after all, so that does make sense. Bill Walsh College Football Dammit, this one is dull and boring. I mean, I'm not the biggest fan of the NFL, so imagine how much I care about college football. Yeah, pretty much not at all. And who the hell is Bill Walsh, anyway? A player? A coach? I don't know. All I know is that this is one boring-ass game that I have no clue why I own. Super High Impact I haven't played this game, but after looking it up online, watching footage of it, and reading people's opinions on it, I'm sure I don't want to. It looks like another boring game, and if you go by what people say, it's also apparently frustrating. I'll pass on this one (H A H A ''G E T I T'') NHL 95 This one can be a bit more interesting for me as I actually used to play hockey, but it's still kind of boring. That's still because of my general distaste for sports games, because I'd rather play something imaginitive as opposed to something I could have more fun doing in real life. Riddick Bowe Boxing I might be able to tell you what I think of this game... if my cart actually worked. It has turned on before, but most of the time, the damn thing doesn't work. In addition, I'm not too fond of fighting games to begin with, so even if I could play this game, I likely wouldn't want to. Wrestlemania: The Arcade Game Not gonna lie, this one is a decent game. It is another fighting game, so I'm not a massive fan of it, but it's still an ok game. The controls feel alright and the graphics are good, but the roster is somewhat lacking. WWF Royal Rumble, WWF Wrestlemania, and WWF Raw I'm putting these ones together because I don't have much to say about them. All three suck balls. LJN published them, so it makes sense that they're not good. I think that's enough information as it is. Doom Troopers A Contra-style 2D shooter. This one has the distinction of being kind of violent with its inclusion of blood effects. They actually don't look bad. This game really isn't my thing, but I'd still say it's alright. Wing Commander This is some kind of... space shooter? RPG? I'm not too sure. All you need to know is that I think this game is very boring and I just couldn't get into it at all. Everyone seems to love this game because of its story, and to that I say... I couldn't care less. I don't play games for the story, I prefer games that are light on story in favor of more emphasized gameplay elements. If you can do a story well, then that is a plus. However, I don't focus on that in the games I play, so Wing Commander is not a game I want to continue. I played it for about a half hour or so, and decided it was not my thing. Revolution X: Music is the Weapon ft. Aerosmith This is an arcade-style first-person shooter. It can be kind of monotonous, but honestly, it's an ok game. It can be kind of fun. However, just like all other arcade games, it's brutally difficult to the point of being nigh-impossible to make progress in. This doesn't make it bad though, because that's what arcade games are supposed to be. I'd say in that sense, Revolution X is a success. So those are all the SNES games I own. Some are bad, several I'm indifferent about, others I like, and a few are some of my favorite games of all time. This console has a significantly better library than the NES for the most part, including my favorite 2D Mario game, several other great sidescrolling platformers, some fun action games, good RPGs, and what is essentially a 16-bit version of Microsoft Paint. It's overall some pretty good stuff. Conclusion With that, I'd say it's time to wrap this up. Without a doubt, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System is one of my favorite Nintendo systems and one of my favorite game consoles in general. It takes everything its already great predecessor did and does it all so much better. The graphics are great and still look good to this day, the console had some impressive musical capabilities for the time, the controller is comfortable and works very well, both of its regional appearances look nice, and most importantly, it's home to some of my favorite games of all time and still others that have aged remarkably well. If you don't own an SNES already, I would definitely recommend you get one. If you want to get started with collecting retro games, this console is a great place to start. If you don't want to spend the hefty prices on original hardware and only want to play the games, emulators like Higan are a great option as well. There's no shame in emulation (hell, I often use it). So there we go, my thoughts on this legendary console. I have to admit, this was a ton of fun to make, and I'm definitely going to do one on my other consoles like the N64, Gamecube, Genesis, Dreamcast, PS2, and the GBA SP at some point. I may even do more modern consoles like the Wii, XBOX 360, XBOX One, PS3, DS Lite, or 3DS XL, but I want to do my older systems first as they're the ones I play the most. I'm not too sure what my next post will be about, so for now, we'll have to wait and see. Whatever the case, I'll see you guys next time. Category:Blog posts